Ascension
by JokersAceInTheHole
Summary: Hallucination: A false or mistaken idea; a delusion. What do you do when your entire life is a dream? And how are you to be sure that 'real' life isn't just another dream. Answers are evasive and things that should be aren't while others that shouldn't are. T for gore and mentions of rape/mind-rape, WILL BE CHANGED TO M RATING WHEN CH 4 IS POSTED.
1. Dream

Ascension

Chapter One: Dream

JokersAceInTheHole

* * *

I'm falling in the black

Slipping through the cracks

Falling to the depths can I ever go back

Dreaming of the way it used to be

-Falling Inside the Black, Skillet

**Warnings for this chapter**: Mentions of Rape/Mind-rape, gore

* * *

Blood dripped in front of anguished green eyes. Black hair blood-slicked against a bruised forehead. Chapped lips torn open and bleeding, releasing a tormented scream that bounced around stone walls painfully.

"I-I'll tell you I'll tell you!" He coughed out along side drops of crimson. The manic grin of his tormentor tapered off into a mockingly contemplative look.

"Giving in already _half-blood_? I thought your little friends meant more to you." _Yeah, until Snake-face didn't kill me and drove me at least half insane in little under two months._ A tantalizing grin slid over perfectly sculpted lips. "Does bawby Potter want to go back to his friends?"

"Yeah actually." The smack of flesh on flesh alerted him to his slip of the tongue and he couldn't help but wince- not from the pain but the stupidity.

"What was that?" The Frizzy hair of the head of Voldemort's T&I division obscured his vision as slate grey eyes lowered to his level. "Did you say something, _filth_?"

He didn't even have it in him to feel insulted that his whimper wasn't faked. Satisfaction flashed across her eyes and she stroked his blood-streaked cheek fondly, drawing another flinch. They may have stolen his glasses but a regiment of vision corrective potions let him see every gory detail of his torture.

"I didn't think so." Her hips swaying, she sauntered out of the room, leaving him lying face-down on the stone slab she had left him on breathing heavily.

Once she was out of sight he checked himself over mentally. Left wrist: rebroken. Scalp: bleeding, various burns. Right knee: multiple incisions. Left shin: fractured. He winced and felt out the rest of his bruises and burns, seeing his hand shaking made him hold back a curse. Just because they couldn't drive him to insanity didn't mean that he wasn't subjected to the cruciatius hourly. Without moving from his face-down position he clenched his fists angrily.

He was weak, he was traitorous, he was just a _stupid_ boy who was playing hero and _failing_. Epically. He swallowed, or tried to and almost threw up at the taste of blood, he must have bit his tongue again- good thing he couldn't feel it. And lucky for him he hadn't bit it _off_.

His eyes flicked instinctively towards the door as it opened. No matter how tired he was it was important to know exactly what it was you were going to be subjected to so you could prepare. His tired eyes widened briefly. Snape? But he had been killed hadn't he? But no… he never came back to Order Headquarters… he could have survived… defect? Or prisoner?

Studiously ignoring his burning gaze the potions master rooted around a cabinet nearby pulling out four blue-tinted vials. He placed them on a table and turned towards the door. His hand hovering over the doorknob he stilled and cast one look over his shoulder. He turned before Harry could get a full read but he had seen pity, disgust, resignation and something else… perhaps self-pity, but why the self serving git thought he should pity himself was beyond him.

"Dream…" The whisper was so quiet Harry had to strain to make it out over his labored breathing. "Forget… for your sake."

And with that he swept out of the room. Harry swallowed; bile stinging at his raw throat. What was he telling him? That he… understood? Empathized? Painfully Harry shifted enough that his left arm, trapped under his stomach came loose enough to remove. Slowly he moved the arm into the range of his sight, flinching once more at the raw, burning dark mark branded into his skin.

Angrily he branded the sight into his mind, swearing to himself he would never forget. A flicker of Bellatrix's crucio shot up his spine and he twitched, lowering his arm to his side. Why hadn't she come back already? Was she just letting him stew in his regret, his pain- not that they had never done that.

His eyes flickered as his tormentor re-entered the room. "How did it feel _Harry_?" She twisted his name around her tongue seductively and he shivered and flinched, "seeing your _beloved_ potions master again?" He flicked his eyes away. A wand rested in a deceptively contemplative position against Bellatrix's lips. "He never went back did he…" A feral grin warped her expression and she leaned down slightly and looked him in the face, "Couldn't have when the information was _ripped_ from his head… could he?" The last was said in a gentle lilting voice that made Harry grit his teeth painfully and agitate his broken jaw.

Ripped from _Snape's_ head? But he was the greatest Occulency master Harry had ever heard of… able to block both Dumbledore _and_ Voldemort- well not anymore it seemed.

Bellatrix was talking again and he found his attention drawn back to her. "Pity about that isn't it… you see, there's a problem with tearing memories. The Fidelus makes them distorted to protect itself." Her eyes bored into his and he forced himself not to swallow fearfully, "So _tell me,_" she purred, "Where is the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix located?"

Harry hesitated for all of two seconds before a crucio brought a scream from his lips. "Tut tut _Harry_ I don't need to convince you again do I?"

Harry was morbidly tempted to spit in her face- not that he could draw up enough spit to do it even if he had the guts. Her eyes tightened around the corners and he drew back quickly in on himself, his back stretching and re-opening his heavily dispersed scabs as he curled into the fetal position, whimpering. "I'll tell…" His words were quiet but he knew she heard them clearly.

A delicate hand curled in his hair then tightened and pulled his head up so he was looking at her. "Where?"

"Th-the Burrow… O-Ottery St. Catchpole…" An insane laugh and the release of pressure on his head made it clear that the madwoman above him remembered exactly where the Order was located. He _hurt_ so much- and not just from his wounds. He did it for _him_ and now they would pay the price for his selfishne… wait but he was _always_ selfless. Always doing things for their sake.

A resolve settled itself in his chest, easing away a bit of the pain. He barely noticed as Bellatrix all but skipped out of the room. He had every right to be selfish, every right to let them burn. They all knew where he was, they all knew that he was being interrogated daily but had there been a rescue party? No- because they would be sure to gloat over how many they had killed or wounded to crush him even more. Which meant that they didn't _care_ that they were found- or they assumed he was too nice to give them up.

A sneer curled on his lips and he pulled even closer in on himself in the cold room. He was being selfish for once, because this gut-wrenching, nerve-searing pain wasn't worth it. There was always Grimuald place- he almost spat when he realized that he was the secret keeper there as well- for headquarters, and Lupin's place, and even _Hogwarts_ if it came down to it. If they were smart they would escape with minimal casualties. He frowned when he realized another possibility- that they thought they were safe because they thought he would never give in. Which would mean that they would be as off guard as his parents had been that night.

No! He wasn't Wormtail!

"_You should have __**died**__! Died rather than betray your friends- as they would have done for you!_" Harry whimpered at the reminder of his godfather's words. Was _he_ that Wormtail? They hadn't given him a _chance_ to die- a chance to _choose_ death, just this furious, relentless onslaught of pain and threats and cajoling and kindness- it was enough to make his head spin! Enough that even that _vital_ piece of information was worth nothing.

He brought his shaking arms up quickly, not even having energy to hiss in pain. His trembling fingers closed around hair stiff with dry blood, drawing strength from his tightening hold. Nails scraped against a burned scalp and brought a choked yelp to his bloody lips. Stupid- that's what he was. Foolish, cruel, _betrayer_. What would Sirius have thought of him?

A vision of the madness clear on his godfather's face when Pettegrew was revealed flickered in his consciousness; a replay of his furious sneer and threats to kill and a sob built up in his throat. Funny, how giving up had hurt more than anything Bellatrix could ever come up with. He shivered and brought his arms around himself, clutching painfully to bloody and bruised shoulders. This was too much for anyone… much too much for _him_.

He flinched at the surfacing memory of a meaty hand tightening in his hair painfully. He turned his face against the cold stone slab beneath him, drawing a sickening sense of comfort from the reality of _now_. The Dursleys had been a popular torture subject with multiple grotesque mind-raping episodes courtesy of Rudolphus Lestrange. He twisted his mouth into a pained grimace and all but tried to bury his face in the stone.

The husband of Bellatrix Lestrange had a disturbing talent with distorting memories. Making people think things had happened to them that they knew with absolute certainty only seconds before had never happened. He could hear the slapping of flesh against flesh, could hear angry shouts and threats and sickly danger, could taste bitterness he had never known before on his tongue, could feel the burn of soreness in his lower back and _hated_ it. Hated _him_ with such fervor and passion that he found it hard to remember it had never happened. Made him cooperate with the madwoman before her husband could pervert his memories of his godfather, parents, friends; before he could make him hate _them_.

With another shiver and a silent sob Harry slowly slipped into unconsciousness. Subconsciously remembering Snape's words only half and hour or so before, _Dream... Forget… For your sake._

* * *

Sneak peak into next chapter:

_"It doesn't work Sam, there's no use."_

_"Oh come **on** Danny- why don't you just see what you can do. Wouldn't it be cool if we could get it to work?"_


	2. Falling

Ascension

Chapter Two: Falling

JokersAceInTheHole

* * *

I feel I've come to realize

How fast life can be compromised

Stand back to see what's going on

I can't believe this happened to you

-The Hell Song, Sum 41

**Warnings for this chapter: **Complete AU of the Danny Phantom series. I love what I've seen but I haven't seen very much, just rare episodes and I can't find them free online anywhere. So yeah, just drawing off Wikis and my memory for most of the facts and I'll probably distort them dangerously.

* * *

Blue eyes opened lazily as a yawn broke through the owner's lips. Danny Fenton stood after a few minutes of staring at the ceiling trying to remember his dream- because he was sure that he had been having one. Today was… Monday he believed which meant- great, school.

He trudged downstairs after pulling on his usual outfit- a red and white shirt and a pair of jeans- and plopped himself down at the table. On the other side of the table sat Jazz- his psychology-obsessed sister. He heard her make a sort of disapproving sniff and called out, "Hey mom, dad." He walked to the fridge and began taking out his cereal and milk and avoiding the strange ectoplasm covered things that occupied the same place. "I'm having Sam and Tucker over later."

"That's nice dear." He turned to see his mother, in her usual blue haz-mat suit with goggles over her eyes as she fiddled with something in her hands. He heard Jazz sigh in aggravation.

"I _thought_ we had a rule about no 'ghost'-thingies at the table." She crossed her arms across her chest.

At that moment his father stepped into the room with one of his bizarre hand-made inventions and proudly started proclaiming what it could do. "And Jazz," he paused in explanation long enough to say, "I thought we said there would be no text books at the table." Jazz threw her hands up angrily.

"Are you two _always_ going to act like this? I mean look at poor Danny! Having to grow up with people like you two, I'm surprised he hasn't shown any signs of crazy already." Danny scratched the back of his head at being the center of his sister's attention then let out a small- completely manly- yelp as she jerked him towards her. "And _I_ will be taking him to school today thank you."

"Jasmine." Maddy Fenton warned slightly but her husband just waved a hand at her and as Danny was pulled out the door he heard him proclaim, "It's sibling bonding Maddy! I always wish I had a sibling to-" The slam of the car-door cut off his words and Jezz got into the car a few seconds later, grumbling under her breath about crazy parents who were going to infect Danny.

* * *

"Bye Danny, call me if you need anything!" Danny waved slightly to Jazz as she drove away before turning and trudging up to school. Halfway there Tucker Foley met up with him by almost knocking him over.

"Hey Tucker." Tucker shot him a smile before looking back down at some gadget or another, Danny wasn't to sure what to make of it. "You know where Sam is?"

Tucker shrugged, "She said something about planning a 'Save the Frogs' campaign."

"Why would we need to save the frogs?" Danny wondered rhetorically as they wandered inside the building. "What do _frogs_ have to do with anything?"

Tucker shrugged and tucked his machinery away in his pocket, "We dissect them in biology class?" he shrugged again, crossing his arms behind his head, "Besides, this is _Sam_ we're talking about here who knows why she does _anything_?" He shivered at a thought and Danny heard him mumble what sounded like, "Eats grass and leaves. Who would _do_ that?"

He snickered and opened his locker, stuffing his things in as he heard footsteps approaching. "Hey Danny. Hey Tucker." He turned with a smile to see his second best friend, Samantha Manson smiling at them.

"Hey Sam, what's the deal with the 'save the frogs' thing?" Danny wondered as the three of them walked to class.

Sam managed to look horrendously offended at his words. "A 'save the frogs _thing_'? Don't you understand what horrible people we are to even _think_ about harming those innocent frogs? I mean, what if it was _you_ who was being dissected! They have human rights issues with that so why don't they have animal rights issues with dissecting frogs. This might seem small but it's going to have gigantic social repercussions if it succeeds!" Danny thought he tuned her out around when she started talking about putting himself in the frog's place. She had a habit of ranting on about things like that.

He smiled though as she continued with her rant after Tucker interrupted her and pointed out that humans weren't anything like frogs. His smile dropped as he felt a rough hand grab the back of his shirt and jerk him back so he tripped onto his backside painfully. "Oww…" He glared at the expected sight of Dash laughing uproariously with his two little lackeys- okay not-so-little but there really wasn't much difference. He growled as Sam helped him to his feet and probably would have said something to the bully if it wasn't for Sam's words.

"Calm down Danny, he's totally not worth the detention."

"Who says I'm going to get caught?" He growled back but let her and Tucker walk away with him, hearing the jeers of the much larger boy follow him.

Once they were out of earshot Tucker turned on Sam, "I don't see why you keep making him leave, Dash is a total jerk. He needs to have someone stand up to him, and he picks on Danny too much."

Sam rolled her eyes, "You saw what he can get away with in front of the students. Besides have you _seen_ how much bigger he is than Danny? Not to insult you or anything," here she shot a glance at a still-angry Danny, "but he's a football player, he'd probably wipe the floor with you."

"Thanks for the confidence Sam." He huffed before sighing and waving away her apology. "Whatever. You guys _are_ coming over today right? I think my dad is going to finally get that weird ghost thingy in the basement working- or at least up and running. I doubt they'll _ever_ catch a real ghost." Tucker looked a little nervous but laughed along with Sam.

"Ghosts don't even _exist_." Sam shook her head exasperatedly, "Who would stick around _this place_ anyways? There's little enough to do when you're _alive_ can you imagine Amity when you're _dead_?" All three laughed and made their way to class.

* * *

"Mom, Dad, I'm home, and Sam and Tucker are with me." Danny called, stomping up the stairs to his room. He received a hello from down in the basement and after dumping his backpack in his room- Sam and Tucker doing the same- he and his friends made their way back down the stairs and to the basement where his parents were fiddling with some tunnel-like structure in their usual hazmat suits.

Maddie Fenton looked up and smiled at them, "Hello Sam, Tucker, how was school Danny?" Both Sam and Tucker said hi to 'Mrs. Fenton' and Danny just shrugged and walked closer to the tunnel.

"So what _is_ it anyways?" He asked his father after a few minutes. The blow-torch stopped for a few seconds as Jack Fenton- his eccentric ghost-obsessed father- turned to him with a wide grin. Posing and posturing like a salesman he started explaining.

"This, my boy, is a Fenton Ghost-Portal." He was even sure there was an implied "tm" symbol after that word. "When your mother and I finish this baby it will be a portal to access the ghosts in their home territory!" As though sensing discomfort- which Danny was _completely_ not feeling he put on a calming face and said soothingly, "Now don't worry son, your mother and I are taking proper precautions, this baby's not even plugged in yet."

"That's great dad." He responded, sharing a raised eyebrow with Tucker who tried- and failed in Danny's opinion- to hold back a snicker. "Well unless you need me the three of us are going to be in my room." Upon getting the okay the three left.

"That'd be so cool if it actually worked." Sam commented some time after they'd settled on Danny's bed. Tucker laughed.

"You were the one that said that ghosts didn't exist." Danny laughed as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on, they _don't_. It would be so cool if it worked though." She reasoned. Her two friends just continued to laugh and she rolled her eyes again with a huff of exasperation. Danny could see where she was coming from though, it _would_ be pretty cool to find out you had a literal portal to a ghost world or something in your basement.

"I'm gonna get something to eat, you guys want anything?" Danny asked after a little while more of their playful bantering.

"Is there anything _safe_ to eat here?" Danny opened his mouth to argue with Sam's words but her challenging raised eyebrow made him reconsider, not to mention the green slime-things that frequented their fridge and his father encouraged to stay.

"I'm sure I'll find something." He replied instead and she laughed.

"Nah, I'll come down with you." Tucker said about the same thing and the three of them made their way back down to the kitchen. Danny was surprised though, at the fact that his parents were sitting at the table looking downtrodden.

"Hey, how's the portal going?" He asked cautiously, opening the fridge door and eyeing the food distrustfully as he did so.

Maddy sighed, "I don't know what we're doing wrong, I was sure this one would work better than the last one too." She shook her head. "Your father and I are going to devote our time to those thermos' that your father mentioned for a while, maybe we'll come back to the portal."

"Do you mind if we check it out Mrs. Fenton?" Tucker asked and Danny could tell his fingers were itching to explore the technological monstrosity in the basement. His mother consented and the three trooped downstairs, completely forgetting their original reason for vacating Danny's room.

Once they had gathered around it Tucker began prodding around the edges but all three of them seemed leery about actually getting _in_ the tunnel.

Twenty minutes of prodding and Tucker sighed, "Someone has to go in." Danny found it a little alarming that their gazes were somehow immediately turned towards him and swallowed.

"Wait, why me?"

"None of the hazmat suits they have would fit us." Sam replied instantly and Danny scowled at his parents' belief in his eventual interest in their erm… craft?

"It doesn't work Sam, there's no use."

"Oh come _on_ Danny- why don't you just see what you can do. Wouldn't it be cool if we could get it to work?" With a final sigh he meandered over to the storage cupboard and began rummaging around before pulling out the hazmat suit- at least it wasn't bright orange like his fathers. Sam grimaced at the sticker of Jack Fenton's face on it and tore it off before ushering him in. "There has to be _something_ wrong inside, the outside looks like everything is fine."

He hesitantly took a step forward and another until he had completely entered the tunnel. Using a hand to guide him he looked around- truthfully it looked _just_ like the outside but he made a valid effort to look for anything _different_. It was only when a flash of light alerted him to his hand that he realized how stupid his parents had really been.

He caught the sight of an 'on' button, a flash of green light, and pain-pain-pain before he collapsed and the world went black.

* * *

sneak peak into next chapter:

_"Harry? Oh Merlin what have they done to you?"_

_"Get away from me!"_

**A/N:** Hey readers! Sorry it's taken me so long to update I've been caught up with stuff and I'm doing NaNoWriMo this month too so less updates then usual (if you can even say 'usual' anymore). Anyways I want to thank my readers for their encouragement and taking the time to review.


	3. Retreating

Ascension

Chapter Three: Retreating

JokersAceInTheHole

* * *

As I look up from the ground

I see darkness all around

And I'm lost but can be found inside my mind

Goodbye

-From the Ground, Hollywood Undead

**Warnings: **Gore, blood, cursing, just basically what's in every chapter. Might be a few mentions of dominance and/or sexual plays but nothing horrible. **will be changing rating to M by next chapter**.

* * *

It was dark. His eyes had crusted over as he slept and he panicked for a moment when he realized he couldn't open his eyes. His frantic clawing at his eyes ceased when he came into contact with that crust though as he realized that it was just from sleep and not from some twisted new spell that someone had come up with to mess with his mind again. He laid his head back against the stone slab he had fall asleep on and breathed deeply, his breaths coming out as ragged gasps due to his destroyed throat.

Before he'd panicked he thought he'd been having a… dream. As strange as that was. Not a nightmare- or a memory- but an actual dream. He couldn't help the painful chuckle as he realized that even in his 'good' dreams there was pain. He cut off his pitiful laughter almost immediately as the pain became too much to bear. His entire body was aching now, but that wasn't really new.

He shifted slightly, his leg lying limply against his 'bed'. Had it been broken again? Oh yes, they'd never healed it- he'd forgotten in all the _excitement_ yesterday. And suddenly he knew he was going to be sick. He forced himself to roll over and retch over the side of the slab. What had he _done_? As if on cue the mark taking up the majority of his left forearm began to burn furiously and he let out a hoarse scream.

His lips unwillingly twisted into an ecstatic smile as the scar on his forehead burst open and blood began dripping down the sides of his forehead and into his already-drenched hair. He began to laugh maniacally as his vision split.

_He was gliding up to a tilted house that looked like the only thing holding it up was magic and a triumphant grin caressed his pale cheeks. "Now my followersss, now iss the time to sshow me just how ruthlesss you can be." His cold voice was almost amused and his followers bayed with anticipation. He looked them over coldly, "You may kill asss you like but remember to take sssome captivesss asss we don't want our… guessst getting lonely now do we?" _

_There was sadistic laughter from the most loyal of his followers, Bellatrix Lestrange. Her husband was standing beside her, his teeth bared malevolently and he couldn't help the dark sneer. _

"_Now go! Ssshow them the true meaning of terror! Ssshow them why they ssshould fear uss!" A loud roar was the only warning before Lucius returned from his position by the wards._

"_They have fallen my Lord, the blood traitors will notice soon enough." Another grin curved on his lips and he reflected on how good of a mood he was in tonight. _

"_Or perhapsss not quite ssssoon enough, yess?" At his subtle signal the Death Eaters around him began flooding onto the property, casting enough explosion hexes that he wasn't sure there even _would _be any survivors. His thoughts turned inward and he asked patronizingly kindly, __**"I hope you enjoyed that, but I' sure you'll enjoy your… present even more."**__ Harry immediately realized he had once again been consumed by the consciousness that was Voldemort and his emotions quickly poured back to him and he screamed out blindly._

"_**You bastard- How dare you even lay a finger on them!?"**__ Voldemort didn't seem to be in a very forgiving mood however and Harry felt himself jolt with pain._

"_**Keep up your… uncooperative behavior and I might just bring you back a corpse to keep you company."**__ Harry recoiled and Voldemort's consciousness invaded his once more. He laughed again. __**"Perhaps that pretty red-head blood-traitor; who knows how far those freckles spread." **__It was a testament to just how lost he was that even the testing comment couldn't drag his consciousness away from Voldemorts and his lips just mouthed the words along with him. __**"I'm sure Grayback would love to tell me all about it."**__ And before Harry could make a single comment or fight back at all he was shoved back into his own mind. _

Harry fell off the stone with a furious shout, his elbow catching hard on the ground as she shifted to keep the damage to mostly his back and lower body rather than his head.

Cold hands gripped his arm and he hissed blindly, "_Get off of me- get off! I'll kill you!_" The hands froze briefly before they hauled him up and forced his head up. Harry continued to hiss parseltongue threats until the black eyes met his and he abruptly cut off.

"Are you quite done?" The smooth voice he expected was quiet and weak and Harry relaxed against the stone, breathing heavily. He shook off Snape's hand and spit out a glob of blood onto the floor next to him.

"Yeah." His hoarse voice wasn't any stronger than Snape's and they both knew it. "Yeah I'm bloody done." His chest was heaving and he barely noticed Snape leaving his field of vision until those cold hands of his were forcing his head up and his mouth open. He didn't recognize the blue potion and struggled until Snape got tired of how much potion he was spilling.

"It's pain reliever insufferable brat!" Harry shot him an annoyed glance but stopped struggling and swallowed the bitter potion. After the potion began its work he took a few deep breaths and dragged his broken leg so it was parallel with his other leg. He glared at it as though that would be enough for the bone to knit back together but despite his glare his leg remained as useless as ever. Snape wasn't kneeling next to him anymore but sitting against the desk and watching him coolly.

Harry wiped the corner of his mouth where some of the potion had spilled and reported dully, "They're storming the Burrow as we speak. He even said he'd bring Ginny's corpse back for me." His voice was a dull monotone and suddenly Snape was in front of him, pulling his head back so that the back of it slammed against the stone and he just snarled at him.

"Don't you _dare_ retreat now _Potter_! However insufferable I find you you _cannot_ abandon the Order to their fate just yet. You will _not_ make the same mistakes I have." The last was said in such a commanding whisper that Harry repeated the line to himself under his breath, still staring forlornly into Snape's never-ending black eyes.

"What can I do now?" He asked in anguish. His hand clenching over Snape's bicep tightly. "I have betrayed them- I led the Death Eaters right to their door. What _more_ do you want me to do? What _other_ betrayal do you want me to heap on them?"

Snape's eyes were still locked to his and slowly he leaned forward until their foreheads were pressed against each other. Snape swallowed tightly, "Do not allow them to kill what little of you there is left. That is all you can do."

He pulled away and easily detached Harry's hand from his arm and turned, leaving the room. Harry called out after him quietly, "Why?"

Snape turned and looked at him sharply, "Because I must." Harry let his head fall back against the stone painfully.

"Because that's all _you_ can do. Isn't it?" The man gave no answer.

* * *

It was hours afterward when he subtly felt the wards shifting to announce that its master had just entered the building. Harry woke from his lightly slumber and frantically hauled himself back onto the stone slab, cursing in parsel when he banged a bruise or burn, until he was lying on his back and staring at the ceiling, his chest heaving at the movement.

There was the sound of insane laughter and he felt anticipatory sweat drip down his hairline. His 'room' door burst open and he tensed to prevent himself from flinching to obviously. Frizzy hair obscured his vision as those sinful lips pressed against his ear and whispered, "We brought you back a little present." Harry shivered.

Her hair disappeared and a scuffling ensued. Green eyes flickered to the door and winced as they caught sight of a mess of bushy brown hair. Why _her_? He felt… dirty knowing he'd gotten Hermione caught. At least if it had been Ron or Remus or another _guy_ he wouldn't feel so sick. He swallowed down the bile in his throat and did his best to remain still while his best friend was dragged into the room. She was obviously silenced because even when her throat was nicked with a cutting curse she didn't make a sound.

Avery was with Bellatrix and as the insane woman dragged the kicking and silently-screaming girl into the room he advanced on Harry who did his best to appear entranced by the ceiling. Avery had never… done anything to him. He'd stared, he'd laughed and… sometimes Harry thought he was doing something more, though never anything direct. All the same it made his skin crawl at the thought of that man's gaze raking over his body.

He avoided looking at him until his arms were pinned above his head. At that point he had little choice and reluctantly looked at Avery who gave him a snaggle-tooth grin that turned Harry's stomach. His wrists felt like they were close to breaking so he didn't struggle but there must have been something in his eyes that spoke of defiance because Avery pressed down harder his sneer morphing into a snarl and he moved almost as close as Snape had been and whispered dangerously, "If you don't lose your spirit soon boy my Lord will get tired of waiting and send… one of _us_ down to break you good. You don't want me breaking you boy, you'd best damn believe that." And Harry did- completely.

Avery smirked again at his wide-eyed fearful look and retreated to the door where Bellatrix had finished dragging Hermione completely through the doorway and Nott had re-warded the door. Bellatrix sauntered over to Harry as Hermione huddled in the corner, shaking. She stroked his cheek calmly then slapped him.

"If I didn't know better I'd say you _warned _them." Her eyes were sharply looking for clues but for once Harry didn't have to rely on his skills in lying because he honestly didn't know what she was talking about. She seemed to realized that as well and just slapped him again, "Of course not, you're just a foolish boy." She gave him a malicious snarling grin, "But I do have some _wonderful_ news for you!" Harry had a feeling it was going to be _horrible _news. He wasn't disappointed.

"You're little boyfriend came down with a slightly case of death! I don't think he'll be recovering." Her grin stopped Harry's heart and his eyes were glued on that single spot on the wall until her skipping footsteps had long sense faded away.

There were sniffles and Harry was reminded of his guest. She was against the wall behind him and he couldn't draw up the energy to shift so he could see her so he didn't, instead cataloging his injuries once more. He'd only finished his head and arms when Hermione decided to pipe up. "Harry?"

Harry didn't answer; stubbornly finishing inventorying his wounds as his friend shakily got to her feet and stumbled over to him. He didn't react to her gasp as she took in the sight of him, his entire body covered with blood and his branded arm exposed for all to see. "Oh _Merlin_ what have they done to you?" Her fingers reached out to touch him and he reacted before he could think. He rolled off the slab and onto the ground painfully once more, his leg lying at an odd angle.

"Get away from me!" He dragged himself away from her and against the wall, tears already streaming down his face. His voice came out as a choked whisper, "Just… just get- stay away. I'll infect you- taint you." His words sounded feverish and he knew that he must have finally snapped, that or this was the first time he'd tried to talk to someone sane and he'd snapped a long time ago.

Hermione had tears drawing lines down her bloody, soot-stained cheeks and she was holding her hands close to her chest. "What have they done to you Harry? How can I know that you're still you?" Her hands trembled as they slowly raised to her face and she collapsed, sobbing into her open palms.

Harry felt guilty. Guilt wasn't something he tried to dwell on but it was a constant emotion so he knew immediately when he was feeling it. His insides twisted. "Wait… P-please Hermione. Just calm down. I'll, we'll be alright. You know the Order won't let us stay here for too long." His words weren't that much of a comfort but Hermione's sobs slowed gradually until she was hiccupping slightly. He dragged himself next to her and she buried her head into his shoulder and cried silently.

Shaking his head at himself he tried to get comfortable on the hard ground and relished the feeling of someone next to him. This really _had been_ a gift in disguise hadn't it? His eyes slid shut as a painful flash of red hair and grinning blue eyes burned into his mind. Even if it had come at an unacceptable price.

* * *

Sneak peak into next chapter:

_"You're sinking through the floor again."_

_"What? Shit, thank you Tucker."_

_"Don't mention it."_


End file.
